Poetic License
by KeyamiLove
Summary: It's time for one of Miku's famous welcome parties, but with Gakupo's purple unicorn cups and a speaker that's likely traumatized by it's journey downstairs, will their efforts seem inviting or disturbing? Also, will Kaito ever stop blowing up balloons? (Gakupo x Yuuma) Side pairings: LenxRin, MikuxKaito
1. The Rules of Decorating

_Wait, if Sachiko is living with Yun now...what happened to the guy with the blonde hair?..._

The words covering the paper piled on the table blurred and swam as the man's focus drifted further away from it. He could feel the pressure in his eyebrows from the light frown he was wearing, but it more or less fit the situation. As the definite shapes in the room melted into a swirling blob of inward concentration, he scrunched his eyes shut and sighed. What was the point, if he couldn't even figure out something like that?...

Gakupo had only been watching the drama for a couple of months. But he had caught the premiere and everything, tuning in right from the beginning! He'd always wanted to be able to properly follow a weekly show, but somehow it was really difficult to remember it was on every week. And somehow while he was napping, or watching game shows, or perhaps eating supper, a house had burned down and there were three new characters. It was also possible that the realtor woman had lost her job, but she only appeared for about 5 minutes in the middle, so it was rather hard to tell.

_...He had been blonde, right?..._

Gakupo clicked his tongue in mild exasperation, and jolted in his seat as he heard someone in front of him snort in reply.

"Oh, Miku?! Did you need something?"

The teenager raised her eyebrows and shifted her weight impatiently.

"For starters you could pay attention when people are trying to talk to you. I swear I've been here for like, ten minutes."

"Miku, you've been there for maybe thirty seconds."

The sardonic voice travelled flatly from the other side of the room, where a pink haired woman was pouring coffee. Miku uncrossed her arms and whined loudly.

"Who caaaaares, Luka? It's still practically forever."

Awkwardly shuffling his papers, Gakupo wondered if he should still be expecting to take part in the conversation at all. The lunch room became crowded with the sound of bickering between the two females, and he wasn't sure exactly where he was supposed to fit into it. Those two rarely went a full work day without getting into an argument of some sort, but that didn't mean it wasn't still as alien as ever. It was hard to tell what Miku was trying to get at when she chattered normally, let alone times like this. Absently he wondered if he should try to diffuse the situation, when he was suddenly dragged back into social reality.

"Weren't you talking to Gakupo? Don't waste time when you were the one being impatient!"

The turquoise haired diva paused for a moment in contemplation before twirling back around to face him.

"Right. Pay attention. What are you bringing to the Welcome Party this afternoon? Don't say cake because we already have that."

Gakupo blinked.

"Welcome party?..."

Pursing her lips, she replied shortly.

"Yes! The Welcome Party. I'm throwing one for the new guy, and you had better show up."

New guy, that was beginning to ring a bell... Albeit an outdated one.

"Wasn't he supposed to start yesterday?"

"Yeah," Luka replied between sips of coffee, "he couldn't make it for some reason though."

"I think there was some problem with his moving truck," Miku mused. "But anyways! It's better that way because now I've got time to set up an awesome party. If you don't choose what you're bringing soon, I'm putting you in charge of cups."

Ahh, that would definitely hold a person up. Even if it wouldn't, Gakupo probably still wouldn't doubt Miku's gossip. Somehow she always seemed to know everything. The magic of social skills? Or maybe just girls are that way. She could probably even follow a drama…

"Um, cups...I can probably do that."

There was a dollar store not too far away. He could walk down there and grab some later with a side of fresh air.

"Brilliant! You should do it fast 'cause he's coming in like an hour."

Motive fulfilled, Miku sped off out down the hallway before he had finished processing her statement. Slowly Gakupo's mind caught up and drew a conclusion.

"...Ah, we're going to set this up in less than an hour?!"

* * *

Whoever thought it was a good idea to put patterns on mattresses?

Faint red lines divided Yuuma's forehead into a mesh of plump, pillowy-shaped diamonds. It was a pretty stupid shape to begin with, like a square had eaten a few too many pies. Apparently the solution to that problem was to turn it sideways and multiply it infinitely. Gazing away from the bathroom mirror and into the next room, he tried to decide if the lazily placed mattress on the floor was any better looking than if it were just a unpatterned white rectangle. Not really…

Not that he could blame the mattress. It had only been around dinner when the moving truck had finally shown up. If he had summoned enough drive to find the box labelled "pillows" before passing out, his face wouldn't look like it was designed by Sleep Country.

Crossing the blue-tiled bathroom floor, Yuuma nudged a half-emptied box labelled "toiletries" with his foot. A full bottle of shampoo toppled over into his line of sight. Really, it probably would have been easier just to buy new shampoo once he'd arrived. Save the trouble of packing it up and shipping it in the back of a truck. But it wasn't really necessity that had put it on his shopping list in the first place. More correctly, it had been an excuse to go on one last errand run before he left. Closing his eyes as the initial spray of the shower hit him, Yuuma mentally mapped out the streets and buildings he had left behind. Every detail was fresh and accessible, through the city had been busy and sprawling. You would have figured he'd grown up there.

In reality, this was the second city he had catalogued in his life-time. Memorizing the layout was habit, not desire. Soon he'd remember every alley and corner around him here too. At least partially because he'd lived such a self-sufficient childhood in a downtown metropolis, 'lost' was something he couldn't remember ever experiencing. Physically or hypothetically.

Attempting to start a career would typically freak your average 22-year-old out. There's a lot of lingering pressures, and the necessity of making the right choice, right away. But whatever made the ambitious students of the world clench their fists in anxiety and anticipation had not found it's way into the pink-haired young man. Life seemed more like a continually moving test of adaptation. So when Yuuma's record deal had gone through, it had hardly torn him apart to uproot and change cities for a second time. One last walk through was all he had needed to leave it behind.

Although apparently it was going to take a bit more effort to leave his mistake with the mattress behind. Squinting into the reflective metal of the shower head, it was painfully obvious that the hot water had helped very little. Just how long had he spent face down?! Did he really not toss and turn at all?... Turning off the water with reluctant acceptance, Yuuma made a mental note to find the pillows as soon as he'd dried off.

* * *

Gakupo shifted nervously as he tore open packages of plastic cups and arranged them on the table. It was a little bit concerning how the contrast between Kaito's blue hair and pink face seemed to be slowly fading away… The poor man had been charged with blowing up the ungodly amount of balloons someone had bought in a value pack. It was becoming a bit difficult not to trip over the egg shaped pieces of plastic as they bounced around the room. Not to mention he was only about half way through the package. As much as Gakupo liked purple, he wasn't sure he really wanted to see Kaito's face become that color.

"Kaito, you can stop now. There are enough balloons. Seriously."

Luka threw him this lifeline as she emptied a bag of chips into it's designated bowl.

"_Haa_…._haa_….Oh but... Miku-San...she said she wanted me to blow them all up…" Kaito huffed.

"Miku has no sense of reality. Just hide the rest somewhere, she won't know the difference."

The anxious 22 year old shifted to look worriedly at his balloons, clearly torn between guilt and common sense.

The room shook slightly, and a butterfly-adorned cup tumbled off of the table. Gakupo picked it up quickly, but the walls shuddered again and a second one fell down behind him. This one had a unicorn on it. Perhaps these weren't really the best cups he could have chosen for the party. If anything they were probably meant for a little girl's birthday. But compared to the other red ones the store had, this color was just so much nicer…

As he was thinking, a third cup hit the floor, and he wondered if he could manage to pick it up while he was still holding the first two.

"What the heck are they doing up there?..." Luka muttered, half to herself. Whatever it was that was causing the quakes, it soon ended with the ding of the elevator in the next room.

"OW! That fell on my foot this time, stupid!"

"Sorry! This side is slippery, what do you want me to do about it?!"

"Both of you shut up and keep going! We're running out of time."

The three young voices grew in volume as they approached the foyer. Somewhat triumphantly, Miku marched into the room, leading a pair of blonde-haired twins and a very large speaker behind her.

"Got it!" Miku announced. "God, why do we not have any speakers on the lower level?"

Len looked cautiously over his shoulder at the balloon-covered floor as he shuffled backwards.

"Don't ask me. I didn't design this place. There's no way I'm carrying this back up though, so there's going to be one now."

Rin rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, it's probably better that way. It's not like this thing could survive another trip when _someone_ keeps _dropping it_."

"Not my faaaaault! I told you, this thing is slippery!"

"Would you like any help?" Gakupo offered. He felt relatively useless standing in the corner with his cups. Len raised his right hand to wave off the offer, but unsurprisingly this caused him to lose grip with his left and the speaker took a nosedive.

"LEEEEEEEEN! Oh my God, stop trying to be cool and just HOLD THIS THING!"

"Sorry! Sorry! At least it didn't hit your foot this time, right?"

Rin looked as if she was about ready to kick her brother in the gut. Thank goodness that speaker had a thick outer layer, whoever manufactured it must have thought ahead.

"Just finish moving it you two...There's all of four feet left until you get to the table," Luka groaned under a thick layer of exasperation. Suddenly, her expression changed and she opened her mouth once more.

"Are we the only ones here today? I really thought more people were coming in."

"SeeU is _supposed_ to be here," Miku whined, perched atop a table. "I dunno where she ended up, she has the soda. I don't think any of the others are coming today though."

"It will be less overwhelming with fewer of us anyhow," Gakupo suggested. "Yuuma-San can meet the others at a later date."

The room let loose a murmur of agreement, and he relaxed in content. Kaito was being awfully quiet throughout all of this though, Gakupo wondered why he- Ah! Had he really started blowing up balloons again?!

"Kaito, please don't suffocate yourself! It wouldn't be very enjoyable for anyone if you passed out from lack of oxygen…"

Luka whipped around incredulously as the words passed his lips.

"Ahhg! I told you to stop!"

A rather pale Kaito looked up with a smile that was difficult to keep in focus as he swayed back and forth.

"It's alright," he replied, "I've gotten them all done now so..."

"Yeah, Kaito! I've never seen this many balloons in a room before. My party is going to be awesome." Miku pumped her fist in the air and Kaito beamed. Luka shook her head in whatever disbelief she could still manage these days. All heads then turned to the door as a loud thump came from outside.

"Ahhh! Miku-Chan and friends, please you can come help me with this soda. So heavy, it was dropped _nyaong_…. Oh dear…"

SeeU's rather distressed voice flitted through the partially opened glass door, and at least two bottles of pop were visible rolling across the pavement. The twins were the first to dart outside.

"Orange soda! Jackpot!"

Rin marvelled at the two liter bottle as she picked it up, along with two others.

"Too bad it's not banana soda," Len countered, two sodas in hand.

"Len, no one even makes banana soda."

"No way! Someone does, we just haven't found it yet."

Seeu trailed the bickering siblings with the now-much-lighter bags cradled in her arms.

"You aren't going to want to open those for a while, just put them in the corner here until they aren't so explosive…" Luka gestured to an empty part of the table, playing the voice of reason.

SeeU murmured something under her breath as she scanned over her supply of pop.

"Um, there was bottle of root beer meant to be here too… No one has seen it? It was with me before, I know for sure."

"This one?"

The voice came from outside, where the missing bottle sat in the gloved hand of a rather handsome young man. It seemed that SeeU had made it just in time for the party to begin.


	2. Weird Stares and Introductions

"SURPRISE!"

Rin broke the momentary silence in the room with her dramatic yell. Miku responded with an unimpressed frown.

"What?" Rin whined, "This is our guy, right?..."

The turquoise haired girl threw her head back melodramatically.

"It's NOT a surprise party Rin. Those are lame. This is a Miku-endorsed welcome party."

Len snickered and his sister booted him in the shin. He shot her back a look and Rin stuck out her tongue. The young man at the door simply stood there looking terribly confused.

"Yuuma-San, is it?" Gakupo smiled, recalling the actual purpose of the occasion. "Welcome to the studio. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Please come put root beer bottle on this table, and we will turn music on!" SeeU chattered excitedly. Breaking off from their battle of insulting expressions, the twins turned their attention to the sound system. The man who was presumably Yuuma (and hopefully not a badly timed delivery man) brushed back his hair and stared blankly, but then nodded.

"Nice to meet you too. This is a pretty elaborate set up; I wasn't really expecting something like this."

"Miku-San wanted to throw a big party to welcome you. Everyone worked hard so that it would come out well," Kaito said from his seat on the floor. Color seemed to be coming back to his face. The conversation was cut off there as World Is Mine blared through the room at a startling volume.

"Ahh turn it down!"

"I'm trying, geez!"

Len cringed with his hands over his ears as Rin fiddled with the dials on the speaker. Yuuma glanced around the room, but no one had remembered to bring any chairs, so he continued to stand by the door.

Gakupo glanced over at Luka, who returned his gaze tiredly. Moving to the center of the room she assumed a stance of authority.

"Feel free to grab any of the snacks we've laid out. There are paper plates, utensils and cups over there, and if you open the bottles carefully, the soda should probably be fine by now."

Gakupo attempted to create some non-balloon-invaded floor space near his table before clearing out of the way. He narrowly avoided being bowled over by the twins as they rushed for food. Leaning against the wall, he watched his co-workers load their plates, standing clear until the crowd dispersed. Yuuma stood near the outer edge of the fuss, casually eyeing the chips. His relaxed aura was rather impressive for someone in the center of this much chaos. They young man's pink hair was more pastel than neon, but it still seemed to glow in the light coming from the window. Gakupo could tell the tones of his outfit were carefully picked out to match the color precisely, creating a somewhat refined presence despite the fact his style was pretty casual. However, it would have had more of an impact if there didn't seem to be something wrong with his face. Was that….red squiggly lines? They were rather faint, and the bangs hanging down the side of his face all but covered them up, yet… they were definitely there.

Gakupo leaned forwards slightly for a better look, just as Yuuma turned his head. The resulting eye contact was rather awkward. There wasn't any good way to pretend he hadn't been staring, and Gakupo simply froze up like a deer in headlights. Slightly spooked, bright green headlights, which turned to make sure there wasn't an interesting scene going on behind them. Nope. Just some cake. Oh dear…

* * *

There were balloons everywhere._ E-ver-y-where. _Yuuma wasn't sure how he had missed it while he was outside with the root beer, but now that he was in the room there seemed to be more air trapped in plastic than outside of it. Navigation was becoming an issue with so bouncing off of each other on the floor. However, at the moment, he was a little too confused to pick a destination anyways.

Whatever interest had been on him when he first arrived had naturally diverted to junk food after the pink haired women 'cut the ribbon' on the snacks table, but the tall guy with the purple ponytail didn't seem interested in eating. In fact, upon closer inspection, he was a little too busy staring straight at Yuuma's face. The 22 year old stared back in acknowledgement, but somehow that just seemed to be making things worse. Whatever relaxation the man had in his stance beforehand went rigid, and he just looked like a statue. Yuuma was used to hanging around in areas where people stared at him, it wasn't a new thing. But those people averted eye contact quickly, or smiled flirtatiously, or glared at him like a piece of litter. Frankly,they did _anything other than this_. The guy was good looking, long legs and a pretty face. Normally he'd flash a smile and continue on, but the awkward situation froze him like ice.

_What the hell is happening?!_

"Hey Yuuma, what's wrong with your face?"

The turquoise-haired girl with the pigtails pointed to her left cheek as her voice pierced through the music.

His face? Was he making a strange expression?- Ah shit, wait a minute…

Dragging his fingers over his own cheek, he could still feel the thin outlines of the mattress pattern. These marks just would not die...

"...Long story, don't worry about it," he answered calmly, though he was pretty sure his face was either reddening or paling.

_Well duh, that's why I'm being stared at…_

The girl raised an eyebrow, but quickly moved on. Actually, he probably should be getting away from the habit of calling her "the girl"...

"You're Hatsune Miku, right?"

It wasn't hard to recognize her, she was a pretty big name in pop music. Though Yuuma had a bad habit of rarely fitting appearances to vocals, Miku was difficult to miss.

Miku struck a pose and grinned.

"Sure am," she purred. The pink haired woman was significantly less impressed.

"Carefully, if her head gets much bigger it might burst…"

A smirk twitched at the corner of Yuuma's mouth, but he held it back.

"Unfortunately that's the only name I know… Sorry."

The woman nodded understandingly and set down her drink.

"I'm Megurine Luka. It's nice to meet you."

Her face seemed to relax a bit and settled in a warm smile. Though her tone and stance seemed to suggest otherwise, she looked about the same age as the majority of the room.

The blonde girl near the speaker piped up immediately after Luka was finished.

"I'm Rin, and my brother is Len. We're the Kagamine twins ."

Len threw up a peace sign in greeting, and Rin followed suit. They seemed pretty young compared to the rest of the group. Though they were petite, they were clearly athletic.

The smiling girl with long, sand-colored hair spoke next.

"I am SeeU, from Korea _nyaong_. I am sorry if not speaking perfectly, but I try hard. Also I am a small bit new, so we are similar. Let's try hard to get along!"

She finished her introduction with a smile that looked like it could melt ice, her wavy hair bouncing as she moved her hands around. The blue-haired man still cross-legged on the floor was next.

"I'm Kaito. Everyone here is very lively and kind, so I'm sure you will enjoy yourself."

His face radiated innocence more than anyone else in the room, despite that fact he seemed like he might be the oldest. This just left one person…

"I am Kamui Gakupo, it's lovely to make your acquaintance..."

The man looked as if he was going to continue on, but then concern flashed across his face and he shrunk up against the wall.

"Wow, Gakupo introduced himself without making the whole thing into a giant, weird poem. Progress has been made people."

Miku shoveled a handful of chips into her mouth, not really waiting for a reply to her announcement. Luka looked as if she were considering a reaction, but settled for a small shrug. Yuuma figured he should conclude the introductions.

"I'm sure a lot of you already know, but I'm Yuuma. Sorry I showed up late, moving is a serious pain. Anyways, it's nice to meet you. Should I be checking in with the head office soon?"

The entirely room seemed to blink blankly in sync.

"I don't think we really have one of those…" Rin said thoughtfully.

"Well we do have a boss guy...girl...person. I haven't met 'em though," answered Len.

Luka automatically took on the responsibility of a full explanation.

"This studio has a bit of a different set up. We get song lyrics and music tracks from management through the mail. The drop boxes are in the next room. We also get different producers coming in according to the schedule on the wall there, and you work with them as needed. If you really hate a song you can refuse it, but most of the stuff they assign us is pretty good. For original songs, usually someone comes in to direct. However if you want to cover something, you can just get one of us to man the recording studio and give it a shot. The company mixers will retrieve it, and if it's good they'll fix it up and sent it out."

"It's weird, but really great," chirped Rin. "The more popular you are, the more original songs you'll get coming in. In the meantime, you just play with covers you want to do, and attract attention with those."

Yuuma found himself at a standstill trying to process the new information.

"So... with the exception of producer appointments, you make your own hours and workloads?... Are you serious?"

"Like cereal," Len nodded vigorously.

"Len that was seriously lame…"

"Ahh shut up, Rin! You didn't have anything better."

Well then… Yuuma was looking forward to this.

* * *

Hello! Thank you so much for reading *bows gratefully*. :D I'm on a pretty good roll this weekend, it's been ages since I did this much writing. I hope you're having as much fun with this as I am. As well, I would seriously jump for joy if you left a review. So until next time!- Keyami


	3. More to it Than Sight

The snack table was beginning to appear rather picked over. Chip bowls offered up crumbs, and soda bottles teetered at the slightest movement now that they approached emptiness. This could have been cause for a relaxed and satisfied atmosphere, if not for the three minds that had already figured out what was happening next. From his seat on the floor beside Kaito, Gakupo could see Miku's foot twitch impatiently. She seemed to be having a stare down with the twins in decision of who would bring it up, and when.

"Soo…" started Rin, and her brother tensed like a racer at the starting line. Miku took Rin's hesitation as an opportunity.

"-Who's going to show Yuuma the building? I have to pack up the rest of this cake before it dries out, so it will have to be someone else."

Rin shot back a look of annoyance before replying.

"Oh, you just have the cake to pack up? That shouldn't take you too long, maybe _you_ are in the best position to be the guide."

Miku fumed.

"No! The rest of this room has to be cleaned up too, obviously. Kaito and I are going to take care of that."

Kaito perked up as his name passed Miku's lips.

"Oh...yes! Of course! We will do that together," he confirmed. He began to shovel the last of his ice cream into his mouth to free up his hands. Perhaps he could have put it back where it came from and eaten it later, but like most of Kaito's ice cream, Gakupo wasn't entirely sure where it _had_ come from. At some point during the duration of the party, Kaito had gone from empty handed to suddenly holding a box of mint chocolate chip. No one had questioned it.

Luka looked up at Kaito in alarm, while the twins huddled to come up with their own excuse.

"While you're doing that, Rin and I have to wash the cups. They look so nice after all, with the unicorns and stuff. We wouldn't want to just throw them out when they are re-usable."

Nodding at each other, the two blondes rushed off before anyone could argue with their logic. SeeU stood silently with wide, blinking eyes, trying not to make it obvious that she kept looking at the door.

"...It's alright SeeU, you can take off. It was enough that you came in at all today."

Luka sighed and waved her off. With some guilty reluctance, SeeU smiled and scurried to freedom. Having become so caught up watching the scene playing out, Gakupo had good as forgotten he was still a candidate. This is until Luka approached him almost violently and grabbed his shoulders. She hissed her demand under her breath.

"You!… You're taking this one. If I don't stay here to help with cleanup, Kaito will end up doing all of it and passing out. Or melting. Or something- Miku will be the death of him somehow. So hurry up and _go_!"

Kaito looked over at the two curiously, presumably having heard his name in there somewhere. Luka gave him a sympathetic look which he failed to notice, while Gakupo jumped up quickly. If he argued with Luka, he'd definitely end up being the one who melted.

"Yuuma-San! If you would be so kind as to follow me, I can introduce you to the layout and present you with a drop box."

Yuuma nodded and trailed behind him without argument, allowing himself to be lead into the next room.

Though the square footage wasn't much different, the high ceiling of the drop box room made it look enormous in comparison to the foyer. Against the right wall stood the shelving unit, divided into various square compartments. The top two rows were labeled with familiar names, and the next box in the sequence was freshly marked with something new.

"It would appear they have already painted your name on for you," Gakupo noted. "Clearly today it does not contain any papers, but please remember to check it often. There was once a time when I forgot to, and the papers began spilling out onto the floor. Many people were annoyed with me…"

"I'll be sure to remember that," Yuuma replied. His voice wasn't cold, but he avoided eye contact as he spoke. Gakupo's nerves bit at him from the inside. It really must have seemed rude when he was gawking earlier, not that it came as a surprise. He couldn't even seem to find a chance to make a better second impression. Even his introduction had been a failure. Somehow after the first sentence, his ability to put together words had packed up and left. There were a lot of things Gakupo was terrible at, but he could almost always depend on talking. Regardless of whether anyone was even listening to him, or if what he was going on about was actually relevant, Gakupo could always find something to say. It made him feel like less of a bystander. In high school, his English papers had gone on for miles. His marks had been excellent, but they were usually accompanied by "Gakupo, please be more concise!".

Staring blankly space, Gakupo opened his mouth to tell another tale about the drop boxes, but all of his stories seemed to be blown out along with his exhaled breath. It was...he was… Thankful he was still facing the wall, Gakupo's face flushed with embarrassment. Of all the things he had to lose, his voice was surely the worst...

* * *

Was guiding him around really that terrible?

Yuuma had chalked the competitive atmosphere in the party room up to unadulterated laziness, but now his tour guide seemed to be blowing some sort of fuse. Staring intently at the wall, Gakupo had been still and silent for a good 45 seconds now. His expression didn't seem mad, but his completion looked like he was about to release steam out his ears.

"Erm...sorry you got... stuck with me?… I've got a pretty good sense of direction, so if you want I can probably just navigate the place by myself."

The purple haired man jolted suddenly, and whipped around, scaring half the daylight out of Yuuma. Gakupo was starting to remind him a bit of the unraveled nut-jobs you find deep in downtown if you wandered around too much. Although those guys you could usually recognize right off the bat.

"Gah! I offer all of my worthless apologies!"

Ahh yeah, give him a switchblade and some crazy eyes, and…

"I have been a horrendous tour guide!"

Nah actually, he'd probably need more than crazy eyes to suggest he was living out of a box somewhere. The guy was really well groomed…

"Having not even left this room yet…"

The white button-down wasn't convincing either. Had better make it a T-shirt…

"And already I had been so rude by staring at you!..."

Wait, what?

"Oh, hey…" Yuuma mediated his own misunderstanding awkwardly. "I'm the one who stared first. If I'm going to walk around with lines on my face, I should probably try not to forget they're there."

Gakupo blinked

"But...what else would I be staring at which cause you to have such a reaction?"

Yuuma shook his head and murmured partially to himself.

"...I haven't got a clue…"

The other man looked lost for a moment, before an unknown something in his head distracted him. He perked up with almost a spasm. _Bloody hell_ this guy was twitchy…

Ah! Well, currently Rin and Len are occupying the cafeteria, but if you come this way I can show you the location of the washrooms!"

…

Two washrooms, an office area, three recording studios and a green room later, Yuuma had seen the majority of the building. Overall it had been a larger than he'd imagined, and very tidy. According to his guide, the last room left was the library. Still chattering on as he had been for the last half hour, Gakupo opened the final door.

"Here we are, the design of this area is very beautiful I think…"

A large, beveled window filled the room with sunlight, lighting up the shelves filled with glimmering CDs and organized binders. In the center was a wooden desk, holding a small computer.

"Here you can find lyrics and music for any of the songs the company has the right to use. If you wish to locate something in particular, the computer will help you find it. Although sometimes it can be exciting to just select a song at random and see if it suits your taste."

The collection was impressive. So this is what Rin had meant by covering songs.

"New songs shown up upon occasion when a producer doesn't have a specific vocalist in mind. As well, eventually the songs we are working on now will become available too."

Absently Yuuma ran his fingers along the spines of the CD cases. The cases clicked together slightly as if to prove they were real. It was rather amazing.

"It's a bit like music, isn't it?" Gakupo said softly.

Hmm?

"The discs," Gakupo replied, answering the unspoken question. "The sounds of the cases, and the manner with which they scatter light. If you could hear the colors, perhaps it would be like a symphony. That's how it seems to me."

This guy really was a bit off. But the smile in his eyes as he spoke seemed to draw a line between insanity and imagination. Yuuma's mind was hardly about to start drawing up music notes to fit the shining plastic, but there was a small piece of the idea that seemed to make sense.

"If someone tried to take a picture of this, it would be a waste of time, I think. Something would be missing from it. So I suppose you're right, there's more to it than sight."

* * *

Uwaaaah, chapter three is out! I'm probably more excited about it than anyone reading even is xD Speaking of which, thank you so much to those who review, favorite, and follow! It makes me so happy to see such nice comments. Please keep reading, and I'll try my best to make this a story worth your time - Keyami


	4. Chocolate Cereal Does Not Make Me Fat

The bottom floor was quiet upon Yuuma's return, save for the twins' chattering from the cafeteria. Seeing as there were no sounds of splashing water, they were presumably done with the dishes. Casually, he peeked in.

"Ahhhhh! You weren't supposed to change that! I don't have any red cards!"

Rin howled her displeasure at a pleased looking Len. He was sitting across from her at a table near the middle of the room; his eyes rested proudly on a pile of Uno cards.

"You're the one who wasted her wild card. If you just throw down cards randomly, you'll lose for sure."

Rin scowled and examined her cards fiercely. The intense emotion looked out of place in such a brightly lit and organized kitchenette.

Yuuma watched the game with general amusement, and the younger boy spotted their observer.

"Hey Yuuma. Where's Gakupo?" asked Len, as Rin weighed her flat, plastic options.

"He's still upstairs, trying to find something I think. I didn't ask what."

Rather than a vague murmur of acknowledgement, the next sound to hit Yuuma's ears was Rin smacking the table with her palm and hastily retrieving a penalty card.

"Gaaah! I'm going to the washroom. Your move…" She groaned. Rin left her seat and headed for the doorway.

"Tough game," Yuuma said, raising an eyebrow as she passed.

"I just want to win oooonce," she whined, "I've lost every game so far..."

Len snickered. Craning his neck to check if she was gone yet, he reached across the tabletop and grabbed his sister's pile of cards.

"Shh." Len put a finger to his lips. "I just want to see what she's got...Woah what!? How'd she end up with so many blue cards?"

Curiosity wearing off, Yuuma considered his next destination. Maybe it would be a good idea to check on the clean-up crew. Leaving Len to his morally questionable snooping, he exited.

...

Over the last half hour, the foyer had been transformed. The removal of the dishes and garbage had made a big difference on their own, but what was really impressive was the lack of balloons. You could actually see floor now. There wasn't even any broken plastic lying around. Yuuma was fairly certain that he couldn't have disposed of them all if he had a whole day, let alone an hour. He almost felt like nudging at the air with his foot to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"Yuuma-San! Are you finished seeing the building?"

The cheerful voice rang out as Kaito grinned euphorically, sliding the broom he was holding around on the floor in what was probably supposed to be sweeping.

"Yeah, just finished. It's an impressive place, even nicer than I expected."

Kaito's broom met it's match with the wall, before shuffling to the side and changing direction. If there really had been any leftover dirt swept up to begin with, Yuuma assumed it had probably been left behind at the collision sight. It was really less sweeping and more of a prop-enhanced fidgeting. At least the floor looked clean already.

In a folding chair near the corner, Luka slumped half-comatose onto a freshly cleared table. She was seriously drained, her eyes closed and her position kinked like she hadn't even bothered to get comfortable. It looked like the tidy up had really done her in. Yuuma wondered if she was actually asleep or just lying still, but he wasn't about to tap her shoulder and ask.

The room stayed quiet for a moment as Kaito hummed a gentle tune. The card game in the next room became audible as it picked up again.

"I change the color to…blue."

"AH-HAH! YES! I was waiting for blue! How about THAT, eh Len?"

"You're not supposed to tell _me_ that, stupid…Now I might try to change it back."

"NOOOOO!"

The dialogue in the cafeteria faded to background noise as the net attention in the room was suddenly drawn elsewhere, like iron to a magnet. Ah, Miku was back.

"What're you guys sitting around for? Are we getting out of here or what?"

* * *

Gakupo walked slowly, enjoying the light from the hallway windows as he made his way towards the staircase. The last clouds that had dotted the sky during his earlier shopping had faded away, leaving only blue. Such a nice day; perhaps it hadn't actually been necessary to track down his jacket, after all that. He had thought it would be an easy stop into studio C to retrieve it before heading to the lower level, but when it was nowhere to be found, the whole ordeal became slightly more complicated. In reality the only reason it had been so difficult was because he'd gotten turned around and had actually been searching studio A. Oops. Not that it mattered now, at least he'd gotten some exercise.

As his foot met the last step before reaching the ground floor, Gakupo noted that it was oddly silent. It was very unlikely that his friends (particularly the youngest three) were still working, and even less so that they would do it quietly. Confused, he poked his head through the doorway to the foyer, and received a partial explanation. Luka seemed to be asleep on the table.

"Luka-San?..."

There came no answer. It would be better to check somewhere else for the others, then, and not disturb her-

"...What?"

Raising her head slowly like a demon out of the fog, Luka answered finally. She eyed Gakupo sharply. He shivered, suddenly feeling very much like a knight armed with a toothpick.

"Ah...are you... alright?... Where is everyone?..."

The tension broke and Luka sighed, leaning back in her chair.

"Miku rounded everyone up for a trip back to the apartment. I stayed here so I could have some peace and quiet."

Gakupo nodded knowingly. The Crypton apartment complex was only about a block away, so quite a few of the company's vocalists lived there. The only downside was that it could get a bit crazy.

"What about Yuuma?," he asked, trying to solve the last piece of the puzzle. Gakupo was pretty sure he didn't live there with the rest of the group; Miku would definitely have mentioned it.

"They dragged him along too. I suppose it's a friendly gesture, but regardless, he has my sympathy…"

The young woman blew a strand of hair away from her face before setting her elbow down on the table to lean on. At least, that's what Gakupo assumed the purpose of it was, but she never quite made it through the whole motion.

"Ahhhhggg!"

It seemed Luka really had been in a deep sleep. She'd drooled on the table. Immersed in rage without a target, she froze, staring at the puddle. Her eye twitched as something in behind it overloaded.

"Ah, would you like me to get a paper tow-"

"Shut up! This is never. Going to be mentioned. Again. Got it?!"

"O-okay, but-"

"NEVER, GAKUPO."

"Does that mean you don't want me to get a-"

"I SAID SHUT UUUUUP!"

* * *

'Hello, welcome to Crypton Apartment Complex! Please remove your muddy footwear at the entrance.'

The large poster hung quite conspicuously on the entrance door to the building. From the looks of it, the design was courtesy of MS Word presets. Nifty... It also seemed to somewhat defeat the purpose of a clear, glass doorway, but that didn't seem to bother the twins as they bustled in ahead of everyone else. Len quickly gestured towards a nearby elevator.

"Come on, let's head to Floor Two. Kaito lives down here, but the rest of us are on the next level."

"Kaito's place is kinda boring anyways," Rin said. Kaito smiled cheerfully like it wasn't an insult.

Upon Miku's arrival, Yuuma had found himself dragged on this outing. (Of course it quickly became an "inning" as he realized the complex was only about a block away.) He had been a bit surprised to learn that everyone in the room other than himself lived in the same building, but he supposed that made things easier now that they were so insistent about showing him around their apartments. When the metal doors parted at the second floor, Miku took the lead and whipped out a sequined clutch purse from seemingly nowhere. What the hell?... She didn't even seem to have any pockets on that outfit.

Miku dug her whole fist into the bag, causing a container of lip balm to tumble on to the floor. She scowled, and an eyeliner pen also found itself three feet lower than it had been a second ago.

"I've got the spare on me if you want it, Miku. It's in the top pocket of my purse so it's probably easier to find."

Rin slung a green bag off of her shoulder that- had that even been there before? The strap on it was inconveniently long, shouldn't it have been more conspicuous flopping around at her side?

Miku just kept digging.

"No, I'll find my own stupid keys. I need like a smaller purse or something. Stupid pockets everywhere in this thing"

…That purse was basically the size of a greeting card. Wouldn't a smaller one just be a wallet? How would eyeliner fit in a wallet?... Actually, how did it even fit in a greeting card?

A context-less picture of a koala joined it's two inanimate companions on the ground. Yuuma turned to make eye contact with Kaito, but the other man was watching the scene contently like it was a normal event. Girls were freakin' weird...

"HAH! Keys!"

Miku ripped a jingling keychain from her purse and proceeded to assault the first door on the left. There seemed to be more cheap cell phone decorations hanging from it than actual metal. The door clicked open finally, and Miku shoved it inwards triumphantly.

"Shield your eyes Yuuma, my pad might be too awesome to take in all at once."

Light glowed off of the teal-y blue walls, highlighting a grey leather couch, a large television, and the visible corner of a chrome accented kitchen. Bright vibes soared through the area-for maybe two meters before being swallowed by various piles of abandoned laundry on the floor. There were a lot of those.

"Yeah, bet you've only ever dreamt of seeing so many dirty clothes in one place, eh Yuuma? Pretty amazing." Len didn't even try not to snicker at his own joke, and Miku threw a nearby stuffed animal at him.

"Hilarious. You'd better pick that up. Also the stuff that fell out of my purse. I know where you sleep."

Len rolled his eyes. Obeying some kind of obscure logic, Kaito followed the instructions instead.

"Speaking of where I sleep, we've seen your place, so can we move on now?"

"No!" Miku huffed. "You have to at least come in first. Geez."

"Do I at least get food?" Len monotoned, dawdling through the doorway. Miku thought for a moment.

"Only if you eat the fruit Luka dumped here. If I wanted to eat healthy I'd buy better stuff than that."

Making his way in behind Rin, Yuuma eyed the couch. It seemed like the only obvious destination short of standing there awkwardly. Following a beeline from the doorway, he claimed a seat on the far end. _Crunch_.

"Oh... Cereal?"

Beneath the pillow was a mostly empty box of chocolate marshmallow something rather, complete with a colorful cartoon mascot on the front.

"Oh, yeah, sorry, I was eating that last night. Forgot it was there"

Yuuma raised an eyebrow.

"Why were you eating chocolate cereal at night?... That doesn't follow any logic at all."

Obviously this was the wrong remark.

"Oh my GOD Yuuma, it was night and I wanted chocolate cereal, okay?! Can I not just like, eat chocolate cereal in my own house? Are you saying I'm fat or something?"

"What? When did I…"

"WHATEVEEEEEER. Rin, Len, your house, go, now."

Arms crossed, she stormed into the hallway, followed by twins with keys. Yuuma hesitated on the couch, and Kaito waited for him patiently.

"What just happened, even?... Is this not psyching you out at all?"

Kaito shrugged, still cheerful.

"This is just normal, really. You never had a girlfriend that was dramatic sometimes like this?"

"Oh, uh, no… Never had a girlfriend. Don't bend that way."

Kaito paused thoughtfully.

"Oh. Your mother, though? Mine was also this way as far as I remember."

Yuuma replied with a blank tone.

"She...wasn't around much."

The blue haired man cocked his head absently, then his smile deepened once again.

"Oh well. Girls are this way, you just learn how to reply and don't worry about it too much. Unless they keep being mad for a long time, then it's hard to fix. Shall we go join the others?"

* * *

Hello! Originally this chapter and the next one were going to be one big long one, but I really wanted to make an update so it ended up being separated *le bricked*. Updating makes me happy :D;;;. Anyhoo, there ended up being lots of angry-girl-ness in this chapter, poor guys xD. Hopefully they'll be in a better mood next update. Thank yoooooou for reviews and favourites and follows, I think that joy must be bubbling out of my ears every time I see a new one. Other than that, please tune in next chapter. Bye for now! - Keyami


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